Madam Speaker, the member for Elmwood—Transcona is absolutely right. In British Columbia, we have an overwhelming opposition to this harmonized sales tax, which is why we call it the hated sales tax. We have an attempt by the government to shut down any opportunity for people to voice their concerns and talk about how it will impact their families, low-income people, seniors and businesses.
In my riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan, we have a number of small communities that have small businesses. Those small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. We need those small businesses to stay active and healthy in order to keep our local economies going. In this time of economic recession, they are very concerned about their ability to keep their doors open. Why are we imposing this wrong-headed tax at this particular time?
I talked about this earlier. If the Conservatives think this is such a great idea, why do they not have the courage of their convictions and allow a full, open debate? I am hopeful that the members in the House will support the amendment that was put forward by the member for Vancouver East and allow those committee hearings by the finance committee in both Ontario and British Columbia.